Posted on Friday, July 27, 2012
The recently released results of the 2011 Census showed that growth in rental payments was eclipsing growth in mortgage repayments, a fact that is supported by our data with rents growing at a faster pace than values over recent years.
Read the rest of entry »

Posted on Monday, July 23, 2012
Todays sharp price drops in the likes of RIO, BHP, FMG and AGO are likely because of recent data out of China suggesting that steel prices have plummeted late last week. We understand that some of the steel being sold into the market was at "Fire sale prices" according to reports we're getting. The short term demand macro for steel appears fragile off the back of European weakness and seems to focus on the 100Mt stockpile of ore in Chinese ports (which is normal lately).
Read the rest of entry »

Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2012
After several years of poor returns from shares, investors are undoubtedly questioning the prospect of future returns from growth assets. This note looks at whether the "stocks for the long term" approach is still valid for investors with a long term investment horizon.
Read the rest of entry »

Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2012
An organization whose membership consists of workers and union leaders, united to protect and promote their common interests. The principal purposes of a labor union are to (1) negotiate wages and working condition terms, (2) regulate relations between workers (its members) and the employer, (3) take collective action to enforce the terms of collective bargaining, (4) raise new demands on behalf of its members, and (5) help settle their grievances. A trade union may be: (a) A company union that represents interests of only one company and may not have any connection with other unions. Also called house union, a company union is often a bogus one and generally illegal. (b) A general union that represents workers from several companies in the same industry. Also called industrial union. (c) A craft union that represents skilled workers in a particular field such as carpentry or welding.
Read the rest of entry »

Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2012
We’ve been looking at ways to make it even easier for you to tune into our monthly adviser briefings. So in addition to the teleconference format, we are now also offering you the option of tuning in to watch the briefing via webinar.
Read the rest of entry »